Matt Hancock hasn't ruled out whether pubs in England will be forced to close this weekend in response to the surge in coronavirus cases.
The Health Secretary said ministers had been working all weekend to prepare extra measures to curb the spread of the virus - but that the government had not yet made "final decisions."
He did say that changes would be announced in the “very, very near future” however.
Speaking to ITV's This Morning on Monday, Mr Hancock was unable to confirm if landlords would be told to shut in the coming days.
“We will be absolutely clear about the changes we need to make in the very, very near future,” he said.
The Heath Secretary said his answer on pubs was “not a no, and it’s not a yes”, adding: “We have been working on this all weekend, we haven’t taken the final decisions about what we need to do in response to the surge that we have seen in the last few weeks.”
He said he had spoken to the Prime Minister on Monday morning, adding: “He is as worried as we all are about the rise in the number of cases and we have to make a final decision about what’s the best response to that.”
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), which represents about 20,000 of the UK’s pubs, has warned that closing bars even temporarily would come at an “astronomical cost” to the sector.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of BBPA, said although pubs and brewers have worked “tirelessly” to reopen safely, the majority are still struggling to break even.
“Consumer confidence is very fragile and any extra restrictions inevitably have a further cooling effect on that,” she said.
“It is vital that the government recognises the unprecedented challenges that pubs and brewers are facing at this time.
“Shutting down completely, even for a short period, would be a monumental task, severely impact hundreds of thousands of livelihoods and would come at an astronomical cost to the trade.”
Ms McClarkin called on the government to “safeguard” brewing and pub jobs by putting a sector-specific furlough scheme in place beyond October and extending the VAT cut and business rates holiday.
It comes as Boris Johnson spent the weekend in Downing Street considering tougher new restrictions after saying the UK is "now seeing a second wave" of the pandemic.
On Saturday evening he announced that those who fail to self-isolate could be fined up to £10,000.
Further measures are expected to be unveiled when Mr Johnson addresses the nation on Tuesday - which could include a 10pm curfew for pubs and restaurants.
Operators in Greater Manchester have already warned that a curfew would be the 'nail in the coffin' for pubs and bars in the region.
Yet with similar rules in place in neighbouring Lancashire and Merseyside as well as in the north east, hospitality business owners have said it seems 'inevitable' that Greater Manchester will follow suit.
